ARLINGTON, Texas – Ethan Katz knows Johnny Cueto as well as anyone. But even Katz, who was certain the veteran right-hander would be an asset to the White Sox rotation when general manager Rick Hahn pursued him in the spring, didn’t expect to see what Cueto has done after he was signed to a minor league contract on April 5.
“I had high expectations,” the Sox pitching coach said. “But he’s exceeding everyone’s expectations right now.”
What can be expected of Cueto when he starts against the Rangers Thursday night to open an eight-game road trip through Texas and Kansas City is pitch six innings or more. That’s because he’s done that in 12 of 13 starts this season.
What’s more, Cueto is providing quality starts to the tune of a 2.86 ERA, and there are no signs of regression. He pitched six, eight, six, seven and seven innings in his five starts in July, with a 2.12 ERA.
“His command is really good, he can throw all his pitches whenever he wants to,” Katz said of the two-time All-Star. “The one thing I knew when we had the chance to get him was that he was going to face guys who hadn’t seen him because he has been in the NL West for so long. He hasn’t been in this division [AL Central] for a long time [when he made 13 starts in 2015 as a Royal, his only previous time in the American League].
“That’s to our advantage.”
Katz was an assistant pitching coach with the Giants, for whom Cueto toiled in six of his 15 big leagues seasons, got to know him well and had a voice in the Sox’ acquiring Cueto.
At a time when power pitchers throw every pitch with seemingly every ounce of strength and force they can muster, Cueto gets hitters out with movement, craftiness, recognition and guile.
“He has a unique ability — some have it and some don’t — to read hitters,” Katz said. “He can see where the at-bat is going and pivot off something and go a different route. He’s a tough one to get on the same page with, but when he’s rolling and the catcher is working with him well, it can be really quick.”
“He’s an artist,” manager Tony La Russa has said more than once.
Cueto may not look the part of a like a workout freak but he’s known for pushing his exercise routines to the limit. Katz knows from working out with him.
“The workouts he tries, he would try to break me down,” Katz said. “He tends to amplify things. If we’re going to run half the stadium he’ll try to run the whole stadium.”
Cueto will be a free agent again after the season and will likely encounter a livelier market than he did last winter, even at his age. If the postseason were this week and the Sox were in it, an argument could be made for him to be a Game 2 starter, after Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease.
“What he’s doing right now, he can keep doing this a long time,” Katz said. “He has really adapted over the years. The different deliveries, everything he does, and takes care of himself and works really hard. Who knows?”
The Sox enter Thursday’s game at two games over .500 for for the first time since they were 6-4 in April. They trail the AL Central leading Twins by two games. Cueto faced the Rangers on June 12 at home, when volounteered to pitch when Michael Kopeh left in the first inning of an 8-6 Sox loss. Cueto pitched five innings of three-run ball with four strikeouts, not his glossiest performance but he saved a taxed bullpen pitching a day before his scheduled start, and earned heaps of respect and praise from the front office, La Russa and teammates.
